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Fantasy & Science Fiction, January/February 2010
“The Long Retreat” by Robert Reed – Lieutenant Castor is one of the closest assistants to the ailing emperor. Only a small entourage remains of the army as they retreat from the enemy. When it seems they cannot retreat anymore, Castor learns that the empire is much larger than he imagined.

The story had an intriguing premise with realistic characters. It was too difficult for me to wrap my mind around the plausibility of the empire, so I never felt fully grounded to the plot.

“Bait” by Robin Aurelian – Navin and his family go on a hunting trip for fantastical game. Navin, who hates these trips, has a knack for attracting pests. During the trip, he draws the attention of a rare parasite that threatens to take over his body.

“Bait” was a nice, quick read that was a tad grotesque at points.

“Writers of the Future” by Charles Oberndorf – As part of his world tour, the narrator attends Magnus Esner’s writing workshop. He learns about how to write stories readers can interact with, which is the standard of this distant future, where the line between man and machine is so blended, it’s difficult to identify where consciousness ends.

Oberndorf presents several complex ideas in this tale. It made me think about my own writing and the conveyance of ideas.

“Songwood” by Marc Laidlaw – Spar the gargoyle seeks passage oversea by stowing himself aboard a vessel. He discovers that the ship’s feminine figurehead is alive because it is made of songwood. The two converse secretly, finding they share a special bond though one is wood and one is stone.

This was my favorite story of the issue. A love story in fantasy form, I found it engaging and touching.

“Ghosts Doing the Orange Dance” by Paul Park – The narrator investigates his family’s past, trying to understand the mysteries of his life.

I had a difficult time following this story. It was full of excerpts and other narration compiled together into one tale. I think it makes a good study for writing techniques (which were very impressive), but it didn’t hold my interest.

“The Secret Lives of Fairy Tales” by Steven Popkes – A retelling of five familiar fairy tales.

This was a fun read, and I liked how Popkes tied the tales together.

“The Late Night Train” by Kate Wilhelm – As the sole caretaker for her aging parents, the narrator feels trapped between her abusive father and passive mother.

I connected with the protagonist’s pain, the unbearable situation she endured each day. Well written and surprisingly realistic.

“Nanosferatu” by Dean Whitlock – Hugh Graeber strives to create the perfect drug: a panacea that requires a lifetime prescription. His researchers design nanobots that improve health dramatically, but they never die.

I really enjoyed the change in narration in this piece, and I found myself admiring the writer’s skills as much as the story itself.

“City of the Dog” by John Langan – The narrator finds what he thinks is an injured dog while accompanying his girlfriend, Kaitlyn, to a club. Kaitlyn refuses to wait for him while he goes to inspect the wounded animal, a mistake that he later regrets when Kaitlyn disappears.

This story moves very fast, but the timing is great. Aside from being too explicit at times, I thought highly of it. I loved the eeriness and the ending.

Snowy Days
We’ve had an abundance of snow in the last couple of weeks. The snow can be enjoyable, but it can also be a nuisance.

A few days ago, I needed to clear the driveway, so I rolled out a machine for the job. I don’t know if it’s a snow blower or snowplow or something else entirely. It’s about the size of a stubby shopping cart (the type that I see men pushing around when they’re grabbing a couple of items at the grocery store, like bacon and Captain Crunch), with a plow in front and a handlebar in back. It has an adjustable shoot that comes up out of the middle, so as it rolls through the snow, it spews it in whichever direction I choose (I could even spray myself if I was so inclined). It’s got some type of engine that sounds like an idling monster truck when it’s running. Unfortunately, the key ignition no longer works, so the only way of starting it is by jerking a cord.

I primed the engine a couple of times and started pulling. Nothing happened. I primed again and pulled some more. Not even a whimper from the engine. Then I read the directions on the machine and realized I didn’t have the choke set. Unfortunately, the choke button is long gone, and all that remains is a metal stem that can be turned to three positions. Above the stem is an icon of a two-dimensional view of Saturn (which I later found out is an icon for full choke). I tried turning to different settings, kept priming, kept pulling. Finally, I called my father-in-law to see if he had any ideas since he’s very mechanically inclined. I soon realized that I didn’t have the engine on the running state, and it needed to be set to Fast. Still, nothing worked, likely because I’d flooded the engine with all of my manic priming. Weary from pulling the cord over and over, I realized that the only remaining solution is to shovel the drive. By the end, I was more exhausted than usual, and I’m not sure which was more tiring: trying to start the engine or shoveling.

There is a happy ending to the tale, though. Last night, after another snowfall, I thought I’d give the machine one more try. I set everything the way my father-in-law had advised, primed three times and pulled. Suddenly, the beast roared to life. Fifteen minutes later, I’m putting it away with a clear driveway, hardly breaking a sweat. Hopefully I’ll remember how to start it up again next time.

You’re Not as Good as You Think
If you’re a writer who’s still trying to crack into the professional markets or can’t sell a piece to specific markets that interest you, it’s likely that your writing isn’t as good as you think it is.

I used to believe that the reason I couldn’t get into certain markets was that I wasn’t writing the right kinds of stories or that I just didn’t have the right credentials or contacts. While there is a certain amount of truth to these reasons, they prevented me from taking a critical look at my writing in general.

There have been times when I’ve sent fantasy stories to markets that don’t publish fantasy (or don’t publish the kind of fantasy I tend to write), but when you read guidelines routinely and even subscribe to a few magazines, it’s pretty simple to learn about what gets published and what doesn’t. If you’re submitting genre/subgenre stories that match a market, don’t use this as an excuse.

As for having credentials to get published, I think this can be beneficial in getting noticed, but being published in the past is no guarantee for being published in the future. I’ve seen gripes from writers about certain markets that never seem to publish new writers. Certainly it can seem that way with professional markets, but the problem with professional markets is that your story is competing against stories from professional writers. It isn’t their credentials that get them the contracts; it’s their consistency in producing excellent work.

Finally, knowing editors might help you to get them to read your stories from start to finish, but I think that’s the most you could hope for. An editor isn’t going to put the reputation of his or her magazine at stake in order to grant a favor to a friend or acquaintance.

Rather than blame shifting, focus your efforts on improving your writing. Great writing will get noticed.